Guest Blog: Infuse Writing with BrainPOP

Stephanie joined us as a special guest in a related webinar. You can check it out in our archives! Thanks, Stephanie!

Use the letter to “Tim and Moby” from a related BrainPOP movie as a journal prompt for students at the beginning of class.  Display the question for that day and have students write their answers to the letter with what they know.  Download the “Dear Tim and Moby” template and laminate it for reuse, make a digital document, or take a screenshot directly from the movie.

Not watching a BrainPOP movie with the current topic or just want to ask a different question?  Create your own writing prompt and pose it to the class in the same form or have students write their own questions to Tim and Moby.  Don’t forget, students can submit their own questions to BrainPOP through the Q&A tab.  These journals should not just a write and forget process; they can be used for review, as well as think-pair-share activities.

If you or your students aren’t excited about journaling, other writing opportunities are available.  By making use of the Activity Pages, blank graphic organizers, and other BrainPOP tools, students can express their ideas in many ways.  Take advantage of teacher-submitted plans or create your own.  You can even have students create scripts of their own videos, using journals or graphic organizers as their notes.

When students explain ideas and processes in their own words, it encourages higher level understanding.